


Wilderose

by Left_In_The_Wreckage



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: Angst, Axolotl appears as both genders, Axolotl is the Enchanter/ Enchantress. Idk y i want to spell it with a y., Axolotyl is nonbinary, Beauty and the Beast, Bill drive people insane, Bill is in pain, Bill needs a hug, BillDip, Dipper is still a nerd, Fluff, Gideon - Freeform, Insane Ford, Is that too confusing?, M/M, Older Dipper Pines, being cursed, being held captive so the don't reveal the location of Bill's castle, but he's a well spoken nerd, but it's minor, but not for long, everyone could use a shoulder to cry on for awhile., he'll trade roles as need be, kinda starts off dark, losing family members (missing family members), lots of angst hopefully, mention of Mabel spurning Gideon, motherly to intimidating patriarch, or sees them as, possible mabcifica as well, they all have a lot ot deal with, whatever someone needs him to be
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-14
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-14 20:43:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13015755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Left_In_The_Wreckage/pseuds/Left_In_The_Wreckage
Summary: Title may changeA beauty and the beast with past tragedies and old wounds.How long does a man have before he loses himself, knowing that he is alone in the world? Cipher's had enough time to put this question to the test. He never suspected that his exile would come to an end, that his isolation would come to its final hours or that he was free to dream of returning to himself.Centuries pass and seasons change, but still the curse remainsThrough dark twists and turns in the darkest nights,Only by the spoken word of a like-hearted soul, will you break this chainAnything short, will only serve the vainPerhaps all he needed was an evergreen soul to break the bonds that forced his hand and regain what he'd lost years ago. His humanity.Meanwhile, Dipper has questions of his own. What makes a man and could there be more behind Cipher? What made such a person lash out as he does? What has he seen? What could he learn if he were to listen to the sarcastic and somewhat insane, William Cipher?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N : Inspired by: Fayflop’s Forever more, a fic that seems like it was discontinued? I read it a while back and fell in love with it, flaws and all, it had only just started and it was already abandoned… I just had to write this because it gave me so many ideas for this tale and I swore I wouldn’t write something like this… but I’m going to. It's too good to pass up. I hope you take a look at their work, it only has two chapters, but what’s there is really interesting.
> 
> Check out my twitter for updates on all my stories: (@ink_cap): https://twitter.com/ink_cap?s=09

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Inspired by the original fairy tale and Fayflop’s "Forever more", a fic that seems like it was discontinued? I read it a while back and fell in love with it, flaws and all, it had only just started and it was already abandoned… I just had to write this because it gave me so many ideas for this tale and I swore I wouldn’t write something like this… but I’m going to. It's too good to pass up. I hope you take a look at their work, it only has two chapters, but what’s there is really interesting!
> 
> I really hate that I'm starting yet another multi-chaptered fic... but this one has been killing me!

In the wreckage of the once lavish ballroom, future events were given their foundation. With the fall of an old name, a bitter vengeance and a cruel justice were inacted.

Cipher lay crumpled, curled in agony. Despite the pain and the tears forced from his eyes, the snarl never left his face. The curse had already taken hold over him and his teeth became fangs, sharp and vicious. His eyes were cat-like and the shade of molten gold and they, like everything else _burned_. They did not turn to look at anything around him, focused on his tormentor, though they wavered and watered as he winced and fought the pain.

 

There was nothing else to look at anyway.

 

All around him the world was on fire, encompassed as he was by a wall of flames and the familiar cold tile beneath his cheek. It too burned, so cold that it felt as harsh as everything else, providing no relief to the tormented soul. The enchanter, the only thing between him and freedom from this torture was easier to look at, glare at and seeth at. He wanted to tear him apart. He was there and Bill was in pain.

And he couldn't do anything about it. A part of him wished for death. Either of them would do.

He spoke then, the enchanter, his voice devoid of warmth, “Hear me Cipher, I will grant you one kindness-”

“Kindness my a-agh!” the pain increased until he was panting once more from where the towering figure watched him almost pityingly. Bill bit his tongue then, but his glare made it clear what he was holding back.

“ _A kindness_." the man repeated bitterly as if he thought reaffirming the statement was that important. "You will have a good thousand years to find someone who can see through your… repulsiveness… in order to return to your former self.”

He would have scoffed if his throat wasn't as horse and raw as it was from his screaming. If that was the point of this then why had this man gone to all this trouble? “That’s it? A thousand years is an insult! I could do it in half that time!” If he’d thought bravado would save him, help him save face, he’d been wrong.

“Oh? Well, my dear prince, I do believe you forget yourself. A matter of months might be an easy feat for someone normal... But for you?” he chuckled humorously, “No, I do not think you have a hope in the world, that is why I grant you this kindness. It’s easy to fall prey to a pretty face, but who could ever learn to love a monster with nothing to hide behind?”

The magic released Cipher then, and he fought to stand, but collapsed back to the ground in defeat, disgraced and utterly hopeless. The last shred of hope fled from him, then. All that was left was the all-consuming, bitter anger he felt towards the being who did this to him.

The enchanter, apparently, hadn’t finished speaking. “Absolutely _revolting_ . You should have been kinder, _Cipher_ . I wouldn’t have found you otherwise. It was such a shame your reputation preceded you. Oh, and don’t go looking for this vessel… he really had no other part to play in this. A means to an end, and he will remember none of this. Nor you. _No one_ will remember _you_.”

Turning his back on the destruction rendered to the once peaceful forest, castle, and grounds, the enchanter took his leave, nothing in his wake but the flower he'd cursed the heir with. Cipher would search for him, but it was as if the man had disappeared off the face of the earth… or he had never existed at all.

But Bill knew it was real, just by glancing down at his grotesque form. He was no longer the charismatic prince, but a reflection of his inner cruelty without a shred of humanity left clinging to him. Cipher had become the monster the enchanter saw within his blackened heart.

And no one would be fool enough to think otherwise because that was exactly what he was.

He simply had no mask to hide it anymore.

Faintly he thought he could hear the sound of rolling thunder before his eyes drifted closed and nightmares plagued him. 


	2. Standford Pines and the Wilderose

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “I- I lost my way by the time I realized anything amiss besides the feeling in my gut I suppose. I- I didn’t know-”  
> “I will not be lied to. You may have come here to help the villagers, to try and find their hunting party if you were lucky, but I think we both know you sought something else while you were here.” The monster’s eyes glowed red as he dared the man to lie another time.  
> When he received no answer he loosened his grip to allow the man a breath, but he refused to release the man completely. “Now, TeLl Me tHe tRuTh.”

The forest here was thick and the air stuck to his lungs, damp and heavy. Droplets draped over him like a sheet, but provided no relief as it was no cooler than the temperate air around him. It was hard to tell what was perspiration, and what he collected as he moved further into the unknown.

He’d told the villagers there was no reason to turn to their superstitions of these woods, but his mind refused to cease it’s turning over of their idle fears of this place. Of so-called witness accounts of unnatural forces, of lost souls, monsters and _demons_ that prowled the area relentlessly.

Ford reminded himself he had yet to see any such entity and proceeded to reprimand himself for his foolishness. But it was getting dark out, and because of the dense trees, he couldn’t see through the canopy above his head to determine the angle of the sun. Not for the first time, he started considering making his exit.

He was torn between wanting to push further to make a discovery that would make all this worth it or at least assuage some of the villager's concerns about the inhabitants of these grounds. But he had no intentions of continuing his search in the dark. Besides, it wasn't like the forest was going anywhere, he could come back the next day with better supplies and take another path that might yield more results.

It wasn’t until he turned back that he noticed it might be too late for that. He’d heard something earlier, and went off in search of it, wary of the compass at his sides, being careful not to lose it, but looking at it now… He might have actually found something, the needle was going haywire as if a large source of magnetite was beneath where he stood. For all he knew, it might have been.

Something fell and thunked him on the head. Without thinking about it he dropped his compass and set his hands to his head in self defense of the oncoming onslaught of berries and pinecones. It was as if an army of squirrels had taken up residence in the trees around him and sought to drive him off. No, he was certain that was what they were doing. The man ran from the barrage of the air raid and searched for a clearing or some form of shelter to stop this madness, He found none, but it soon stopped on its own. He supposed, he must have outrun the things or made it out of their territory.

It wasn’t until he realized he’d abandoned his compass that he facepalmed and realized he’d have to head back for it… and cursed at the impossible task as the sky grew ever darker. There wasn’t any time, the sun was taking its bloody bow as it left the sky and he had no way out of this forest until morning unless he wanted to get lost further than he already was. He hadn’t passed any shelter yet and with the sun setting he had no sure way of knowing which direction he was headed for if another such encounter were to occur and somehow, he was certain it would.

His theory proved correct as he tried and failed throughout the night to find suitable shelter. He ran into a number of creatures, none of which treated him very kindly, and all sought to drive him away or take his head or eyes or hands or his very life.

Stanford was exhausted, but he’d stayed up later than this on his trips with Stanley, he could make it through the night, if he could find somewhere to set up camp, even if that just meant he could rest a moment before he had to set out in a run once more. He was too old to be doing this by now, but this damned forest wasn’t giving him any other options.

Creatures in the shadows chased him, perhaps they were the shadows themselves, armies in the trees accosted him, roots tripped him and at one point he could have sworn he felt something breathing down his neck, but it could have been the heat. He kept telling himself that, but he never stopped looking over his shoulder.

He only stopped when he heard the natural forest again, owl and crickets instead of silence and the sounds of heavy breathing and heavier footsteps that seemed to shake the very earth he stood upon. No other experience had unnerved him as much as this...and he’s seen actual monsters where he’s from, but this… this was madness, insanity… nothing made sense and he wasn’t even sure if this wasn’t just a nightmare he could wake from.

Ford closed his eyes to ignore the exhaustion in his muscles, the pain in his chest and the burning in his lungs. He’d never been in so much pain, not since he’d broken his arm when he was younger, but then his body wasn’t threatening to keel over and fail him. He needed- he needed to rest. The man’s eyes were too heavy to open after a while, and the forest was finally allowing him a free moment to breathe, so he didn’t fight it. That was already beyond him with the state he was in. He thought of home and his family, the smell of freshly baked goods, pine and something burning.

* * *

 

He never meant to actually fall asleep. And that had been his final mistake, he was sure of it, when he awoke in a hot sweat from a nightmare he couldn’t remember and a sense of paranoia washed over him. By some miracle his pack lay where he’d last set it, on the ground beside him beneath some inconspicuous underbrush, closed and untouched. It was something, at least, considering the hellish night he’d had. He’d just need to tread carefully until he got the hell out of there. He wiped the accumulated sweat from his brow when it began to trickle and lifted himself to his feet, a little shaky as he did so. He prayed that his strength wouldn’t fail him now, not in broad daylight when he needed it most to escape the vicious cycle that would certainly greet him today as surely as it had the last few hours of his existence.

He never should have come here alone, that had been his first mistake.

He was more open to the suspicions of the villagers about this forest.

It was as if the very forest itself was against him being there, but that had to be preposterous! Still, it did nothing to stop the chills it sent through him, his hairs standing on end as he warily eyed his surroundings.

Before this could weigh in his mind for long, his attention was stolen by a twig snapping and a feral growl.

He lifted his head and whipped around to face the creature, but he could see nothing, nor could he be certain of where the sound was coming from. It… it seemed like it came from everywhere.

With much trepidation, Ford made a move for the musket strapped to his back.

He never got to it. Just before his hand made contact a creature drew itself from the shadows before him. A warning growl sounded and from the size of the beast, the man knew he would never move fast enough. The beast was ready to pounce, stance lowered and eyes as heartless as any demon’s.

“St-stay back!” A low growl followed hi swords and continued as the creature began to circle around him. Naturally, this served to make Ford uneasy and more fearful than he had been prior.

The only way he’d be getting out of this one was if he could manage to get his hunting knife from its sheath at his hip. It shouldn’t be too much trouble. By the time the thought had occurred to him and he’d decided it was safe to attempt it, with no further moves made by the beast, the creature had made three circles around him. As if reading his thoughts, however, it ceased it’s circling, and leapt at the man with as much strength as possible, using its weight to its full advantage.

If Ford didn’t know any better he would have said the intelligence of this creature was that of a being above what it appeared to be, however, he did know better and the monster was at his throat, scrambling to keep him pinned as it threatened his very life. He had no flashes of pleasant or unpleasant memories staring at the face of the creature, there was only instinct as he fought with every fiber of his being to turn the tables.

He wasn’t sure exactly how, but he’d managed to turn them over and push the beast from his jugular. Claws skid across the lush ground, stopping it from hitting a tree in close proximity.

This time when it pounced, Ford was prepared.

He plunged the dagger in the heart of the beast after it lunged at him, it stood there, suspended by its remaining strength as well as the man’s,  its eyes dimmed as the wound bled. the dagger hit its mark and the life flooded from the creature's eyes, shocked and sad. He roared a last time before its lifeless corpse crumples to the ground in a heap. the thud was loud, but dull and it lifts a cloud of dirt from where it landed. Ford panted as he scrambled away and felt no accomplishment, the thing’s eyes having appeared too human in its last moments. He just wanted out of this place, but he didn’t know which way to go. A bite to his calf had him leaning against a tree, wincing and knowing the village too far for him to make it on his own.

“Oh, dear.”

It took him a moment to catch his breath, it took a few more for him to register the eerie stillness that had fallen instantaneously with the beast’s death at his sword.

A breeze picked up, the first he’d felt since entering this hellscape, but it only brang an unnatural cold to his bones and a growing sense of dread.

Goosebumps formed on his arms and neck as he turned in every direction to see what was to come, to find a possible exit should he need to run again. When he would need to run again.

Ford notices no change in the environment until the glowing eyes of creatures larger than him hoard around the trees, strange winged creatures flock to the branches and perch high above his head, he had to look up to see any of them. Slowly, but surely he was surrounded.

Footsteps, not that of a beast, but of a man approached him and at first he wasn’t sure what to think. But then he sees _him_. A monster with cold, piercing eyes and vicious teeth that could tear into him at a moment’s notice. The eyes that meet his are not human, not in color, or shape or emotion. It is a monster in disguise of a man and it scares him more than anything else.

A demon in human skin. It bore gold rings and heavy, gaudy jewelry that would weigh any normal man down. Claws brighter than moonlight and sharper than a steel blade caught his eye as the figure drew closer, stalking at a leisurely pace across the forest floor as if it were a crowned prince taking a stroll among his halls. His gaze shifted from ford to the monster corpse that lay motionless in the dirt. The monster in disguise closed the beast’s eyes and hung his head low. It seemed he was truly mourning the loss, that it pained him in some capacity.

And then he turned, slowly towards him once more.

Every second an agony and still he makes Ford wait until he is. One. step. Away.

“Why are you here? Did no sensible individual in that human village warn you against visiting my forest?” The accusation is clear, but he must not have expected an answer because before any reply could be given he spoke again, colder this time and threatening, “Didn’t they tell you that no one ever comes out? _Intact_ at least _.”_

“I- I’m here...” Ford had a reason for being there, but in his present company, it wouldn’t make for a very acceptable answer.

A clawed hand grabbed him by the collar and Ford found himself slammed into a nearby tree. He tasted copper from having bitten his tongue on impact.

“I can see that, my question, however, remains unanswered. _Why are you here?_ ” He hissed the last words out behind his grinding teeth what little self-preservation Ford had forced him to speak. If only he’d thought of a lie fast enough.

“I am here… because… I wanted to pro-ove that there’s... no-thing in this forest anyone should fear.” He fought to get the words out in the chokehold that had him pinned and the lightheadedness that followed both that and the definite head injury he didn’t think he’d have time to feel later.

“Oh? And how has that worked out for you thus far? Why haven’t you left sooner once you saw it was untrue?”

“I- I lost my way by the time I realized anything amiss besides the feeling in my gut I suppose. I- I didn’t know-”

“I will not be lied to. You may have come here to help the villagers, to try and find their hunting party if you were lucky, but I think we both know you sought something else while you were here.” The monster’s eyes glowed red as he dared the man to lie another time.

When he received no answer he loosened his grip to allow the man a breath, but it never let up completely. “ **_Now, TeLl mE tHe tRuTh._ ** ”

“I’d heard on my travels that Wilderose is the only place you can find the gold crested rose besides the Woodland Isles, forbidden to everyone but the fae. I thought it could lead me to-”

He was thrown to the ground before he could finish his sentence. “That’s what I thought. You’re no better than the others that have come here before you. You always seek to steal that which does not belong to you-”

“I have stolen nothing from you!” Ford insisted, returning his own glare now. He’d been accused of many things in his life, but only his brother had ever been accused of petty thievery. He wasn’t about to let it go either.

The look in Cipher’s eyes hardened and he looked about ready to tear his throat out. “You have stolen the life from a member of my court, and you have the gall to claim you stole nothing?!”

“I killed a monster, not some sentient being, and I was defending myself!”

“Enough! You entered my forest of your own free will and you stayed despite everything. I tried to have you warned off, but it would seem you are too dense a man or too stubborn a man to heed such things.”

Ford, however, refused to accept what he thought to be an obvious bluff. “What warnings?! If I’d been told to turn back in person-”

“Then you would have returned with a hunting party.”

Ford held his tongue, knowing nothing he said would matter to the monster.

“I refuse to budge any further on the matter. Do you have any last words or requests?”

Given the circumstances, Ford was forced to accept that he had no way out of this one. And though he doubted his would be heeded, but he admitted nonetheless that he did, “Send some word to my grand niece and nephew that I won’t be coming back. Tell them anything, but keep them from coming here. If a monster such as you were to grant an old man’s dying wish.”

The man held his breath, awaiting the refusal, but it never came.

“If that is your wish, it is selfless compared to many other requests I have fulfilled and I cannot ignore that. If that is all-”

“I- I would like to see them and my brother one more time.”

Cipher was silent then, and an expression Ford couldn’t read crossed his features before a pitying look spread across his features as he made a hand gesture Ford couldn't follow. “You will soon regret what you have asked of me.”

Claws sunk into Ford’s shoulder and he heard four words whispered in his ear before he was thrown into a saddle and he was sent off, out of the forest and into a deep sleep. _“You have three days.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter that took me forever. For a number of reasons. I had multiple ideas for it, but I had to settle on one eventually…


	3. A Gifted Horse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first of many chapters to come. One or two more before we see Bill again. 
> 
> Introducing Gideon and an unconscious glasses-wearing owl

Sure enough, Gideon was standing there at the door when Dipper opened it, smug and pristine as usual. As much as a rich pig could be, Dipper thought to himself, shamelessly. It must have shown in his expression, that, or Gideon had smiled as politely as he had in the case that his sister answered the door instead.

The Pines decided he didn’t really care, but counted his blessings that he chose to answer the door instead, though Mabel would have been enough to convince him to carry out his sorry business another time.  
“Mason Pines, what pleasure it is to catch you on such an otherwise wondrous morning.” 

Dipper raised his brow, but made no move to take the proffered hand, like hell he would. Gideon, unsurprisingly, seemed to have preferred it that way.

“Yes, such chance that I would answer the door to my own family home. Pure coincidence, really, that Mabel hadn’t instead is what you mean though, isn’t it?” By the end of his sentence he’d corralled them both away from the door.

The blue-suited man’s eyes flashed and his expression darkened at his words, but it wasn’t long before he acted as if the notion itself was silly.

“Quite the inquisitive one today,” he chortled, “but then, you’re not who I’m looking for either.”

The words brought a pause that fortunately unnoticed by the short man, and yet, when the man’s name was gritted out through teeth, it threw Dipper off. This time it was picked up on.

“Ford’s usually the first one to know when I’m around. I swear that blood hound nose of his can tell when I’m halfway out of town. What keeps that hermit that you haven’t hollered for him yet?”

“He’s out on business same as usual,” Dipper replied curtly, leaning against the nearest support beam. It was easy enough to voice a truth he didn’t believe when he had a reason to.“I’ll be sure to send him word of your courteous house call before he gets beck, though. I’m sure he’d love to hear about this latest intrusion.”

Gideon was taken aback a moment, obviously expecting less bite in Dipper’s reply. As it was the brunette was too tired to keep his voice level addressing the town’s very own Psychic pompous fool. Gideon was a problem for another day. Gideon, however, did not seem to share this sentiment.

“Don’t threaten me with that bait, he’s not here and you’ve all been acting strangely about his latest absence. And that Pines, is no coincidence if you ask me!”

“It wasn’t a threat, but you would know, wouldn’t you? Awfully self-serving aren’t we?” Dipper replied callously.

“One of these days, your family’s land will belong to me and poor, sweet Mabel will have nowhere to go but right into my waiting arms! I can forgive her her family, but that doesn’t mean I intend to put up with-”

“You tolerate us Gleeful, because you must. The town adores Mabel and looks up to Ford for their cures and knowledge about the forest. You wouldn’t stand a chance going against us head on.” Dipper dared, pushing a little further than he considered wise in his irritation. And like the person Gideon was, he persisted, pushing buttons he ought to have left alone, sure that he could handle himself in their argument. After all, he already knew something the Pines had wanted to keep amongst themselves, he had the higher ground from where he stood.

“Not yet, but I promise you-”  
Dipper wasn’t sure what prompted him to act as he did, but he knew this was one time he wasn't going to allow Gideon the courtesy to finish his threat against his family, one he’d made time and time again, no less. Maybe he’d gone too long without hearing Ford’s better reasoning, maybe it was because it was a hot day and he was more irritable than usual. Or maybe, something in him welled up and finally decided that it was the time to make a stand and do something about it, if only once. Whatever it was, Dipper pushed past the fair haired pig and made sure he landed in the dirt. Gideon would no doubt make sure he paid for it later, but in that moment it was worth it.

“So you say, constantly, but until that happens refrain from telling us your intention to uproot our family name with your half witted schemes.”

Gideon looked aghast, and was more concerned over his clothes than being cut off by Dipper. He sat and stared agape at the elder of the two a while, officially cowed.  
“Now, if you don’t mind, my other- very present, mind you- Great Uncle is going to wonder what’s keeping me. It’s a shame there isn’t much to tell him, Just a pesky weed in the brush.”  
The little man backed off at this, taking the hint, finally. Neither of the older Pines were worth crossing without some form of ammunition. The only reason he bothered to cross Dipper himself, formidable as he was, having trained under the best in the family, was a personal grudge. One that would never be resolved until he received what he wanted, and no one would allow that. 

Dipper felt a little lighter, walking back to the shack. Contrary to what he’d told Gideon he had no intention of keeping the creep’s visit to himself. “Gideon was here,” he said in passing on his way back upstairs.  
“That whelp, again?” Stan bellowed from the kitchen, clearly annoyed with the mere mention of the man, but then, he always lacked subtlety when he disliked a thing.  
“Yes and could you guess what he wanted this time?” Dipper asked, racing up the first few steps  
“Let me guess!” the aged man guffawed, “the family name splintered and dashed to pieces eh? You’d think he’d have the good sense ot give up already, wouldn’t ya, kid?”  
“Exactly!” Dipper shouted as he leaned over the rail halfway to the attic he called his room, “the nerve!” he chuckled, with a little more heart in it than usual. He felt better, having one upped the man this round. He frowned again though when all the laughter had been followed by silence, a reminder of exactly the trouble the Pines had on their hands with out Gleeful sticking his nose in their affairs.  
The very air around the shack felt emptier than it had two weeks ago, and a stillness cloyed the air. There was no escaping it.  
It affected them all, Stan had been shrugging it off, Mabel’s smiles faltered and were never as bright as she was known for. Anxiety came off them in waves.  
It wouldn’t be fair to say it was worse for the young man, nor would it be fair to say he was the only one to lose sleep over the matter they all dreaded, however, it was more apparent with him than the other two. It was always harder for him to hide his true feelings and misgivings. But, he reminded himself, I have no one else to blame. We all just let him walk out that door again and only Stan spoke out against it.  
True, it had only been two weeks, and the man was known to disappear on his adventures for well over that time, this time had felt different.  
It had even as they had seen him off. Stan was the first to say anything of it, to feel it so acutely, it was his brother, his twin after all and Dipper knew how that felt.  
Ford hadn’t told him where he was going either, just a direction and a stop he’d make on the way. It hadn't been like him, but he hadn’t acted any differently towards anyone or anything… Had he simply forgotten or thought it so unimportant? 

That might have been it, but the sense of wrong persisted and the only thing they could do about it was idle the time away or keep themselves busy. Ford always knew what he was getting into after all. This time would be no different.

They all wanted to believe it.

He’d told them he’d be back before the month was out.

It had only been a fortnight and though he was known to disappear for longer, everyone held their breath and crossed their fingers. He was still on his way back.

Time hasn’t run out yet, no reason to get all riled up over nothing.

If he doesn’t make it back I’ll strangle him myself. No way am I going to be the one to tell the kids-

They all thought it, it was in their eyes, the way they slouched, the long silences at the dinner table and the awkwardness of any chatter they tried half heartedly to maintain.

Why isn’t he back yet?  
Dipper trudged across the his room to the window facing the direction his Grunkle had taken. His forehead rested on cool, pristine glass and a shiver went through him.  
The attic was stuffy with books and dust and Dipper’s own reluctance to open the room’s sole window. Trinkets shone from every corner of the room, spy glasses, magnifiers and assorted plant life, scales and skulls were scattered everywhere, playing tricks in what light made it through the small space. Most of it had been collected during his and Ford’s expeditions out of the little town they lived in and into the woods nearby, if Dipper were being honest. It hardly vouched for his longing to explore, to travel the world. Instead he thought it spoke of his restlessness at being cooped up behind wooden walls and shut out of any situation his Grunkle Ford trained him to be prepared for.  
He’d promised to bring him on his next trip, but this had been his next trip.  
He’d have to confront Ford about it if he came back. When he came back, he corrected himself.  
If Ford didn’t come back… then Dipper would be the one left to pick up the mantle. It would take more than Ford’s good name and Stanley’s cons to keep them afloat with him gone, not when there were enemies to the Pines living right inside of town. Enemies like the pig-faced, spoiled kid Gideon. Sure he’d call it all off for Mabel’s hand, but Dipper knew just as well as the rest of his family, that that was never going to happen. They’d sooner leave Gravity Falls in his chubby hands altogether unchallenged.  
They’d been lucky enough to avoid him for as long as they had, but that time was running out. Mabel was the only reason he tolerated the Pines at all, the only reason he hadn’t used his popularity with the townsfolk to turn against them and seize full control over the sleepy little village.  
That, and Ford’s own reputation in the town as being a healer, inventor and the sole voice of reason in times of trouble and day to day. He was no leader, but he was the closest they had to one…. Before Gleeful’s little stunts began swaying the malleable minds of the poor, illiterate sods.  
The Pines family were the only ones in his way and there would be no compromises made between them. The little weasel had since been enchanted by his sister’s charms and bright nature and while he made it clear he still detested the rest of them, dropped all but the most secretive of his schemes.  
Under any circumstances, Ford’s absence would be troubling, but tensions weren’t going to settle with him gone and the pig faced villain abroad.  
He shouldn’t think like that, though. Ford… Ford would come back. He had to.  
That was when he noticed the horse.  
He’d lifted his head when his ears picked up on something in the distance, unable to place it. He peered up curiously, brow scrunched up in confusion.  
It took a moment for it to register, for it to hit him that the creature barreling through the fields and forest outside of their little shack was in fact, a horse.  
And when he did, he ran.  
Adrenaline and hope flooded Dipper’s senses as he made his way outside.  
“Hey, kid, what’s got you all-”  
He was out the door before the sentence was finished and left with one of his own, his eyes wide as he spared a glance over his shoulder, “Ford”  
He was the first to reach him, he ran out to the horse before he realized it would stop for nothing and no one. It cared not for his futile scrambling to get it to stop, it was wild, with no reigns or bridle and no saddle, but its eyes were calm and determined. They appeared more sentient than a horse was capable of as well after all. And that didn’t seem possible. It whipped past him, leaving him dazed and forced him to cease his attempts to slow it. He didn’t dare try running ahead of it to steer it off course. He doubted it would do either of them any good. But the man on the beast’s back was unmistakable.  
The relief was overwhelming, but then, so was the worry. He was unconscious or… Dipper didn’t want to think about the other possibility.  
Dipper trailed behind the horse pitifully, panting.  
And Stanley… Stan visibly teared up and enlisted Mabel’s help get the man off the black phantom, shaking. There was no way for him to have clung to the beast, how could he when he was within an inch of his life? Pale, unconscious and Dipper saw from the distance when they’d managed to haul him off the creature’s back, bleeding and unresponsive. Stanley paused, searching for a wound before looking up for his nephew to wave him over as well. They lugged him inside without too much trouble. All the while he never woke up, but he muttered in his state. None of it intelligible from nonsense.  
The household was quiet once more, but for another reason entirely. No one wanted to question the circumstances or look the literal gift horse in the mouth, certain it would bite back for their inquiry.  
Besides, they could afford to be thankful no matter how brief the feeling may last in the face of the yet unknown consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny thing about this chapter... I thought it was already out? ^^'  
> My bad.


	4. We'll Talk Another Day, If We Get the Chance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A choice is made and trust is broken

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this could be better, but I stand by it. I may go back and edit it a bit, but I'm eager to get this story going and the next chapter is a doozy! Dipper and the demon meet.
> 
> Sorry for the poor job I did spacing out paragraphs... Getting used to publishinf things again and I dont exactly remember how I went about it before...

Ford awoke to the light filtering through a familiar window.  
This led him to observe the rest of his surroundings, with a caution that quickly faded into relief.  
He was truly home.

  
This revelation, however, was short-lived, as a great pain flared out from his shoulder and the gravity of his previous encounter returned to him all at once. There can be no mistaking it for a dream, then.  
That monster was no creature conceived by nightmares, nothing in that realm could reach into the waking world as his wound clearly had. And yet the reality of it refused to settle in his mind fully, his subconscious seeking to reject it like foul poison.

  
This did not bode well for him or the welfare of his family. He wasn’t even sure how much he should reveal to them of the last few days, if anything at all.  
He wouldn’t stand for them, any one of them, to be greeted by the same fate.

  
“Three days” still echoed in his mind, three days until what? He was let go, wasn’t he? There was no way he intended to go back there if that is what the monster insinuated, but then-  
Ford’s brows furrowed as he fought to sit up, favoring his side more this time, and run the possibilities of what he could only hope was not true.  
After all, how would the creature know where he lived? That was easily debunked with the very fact that he was home without any memory of making it back.  
Three days he’d said, while he knew for a fact that the road home was longer than that time allotted.

  
None of it made sense. He couldn’t know where to send him on that horse, he couldn’t ensure that anything would happen in three days… and there was no possible way he was unconscious for a week and still alive. So many things didn’t hold weight under his questions and what little he could put together without asking his family-  
His family.

  
Even as he thought it, the door to the room was slowly opened to reveal his great niece clutching a bowl of what he could assume was broth.

He didn’t know how to react at first to the expression on her face, but he didn’t have to say anything as it was, she was quick to notice his condition.

  
“Grunkle Ford, you’re awake!” setting down the broth, she held back the urge to squeeze him in one of her hugs, remembering his injury, and instead ran to fetch the others without another word.  
It wasn’t long before the room was crowded with the only other residents in the small shack, but Ford would be lying if he said he would’ve had it any other way.  
It wasn’t long until the started asking him questions and he considered deflecting them with a half-hearted claim of being too tired to answer them all, but he found he couldn’t lie to them like that. Not when his time was as short as it was.

  
Three days. He frowned, they could do without knowing that much.

  
He swore he could see Cipher’s grinning face mere inches from his own. The teeth ready to snap his neck in half and claws ready to tear him to shreds…  
“I-I’ve made a terrible mistake, I’m afraid. One that will cost me my life,” he began with a shaky breath.

  
“I attempted to free superstition from a village, but then that was only a guise for my true intentions… I had hoped to find an eternal flower that could remedy all ailments of the mind, fatigue, amnesia, insanity… It’s the last ingredient in a potion I discovered… traversing where I probably shouldn’t have been,” he coughs, “but I- I was desperate and so close…” he looks up to Stanley and looks away just as quickly.  
Stan’s own expression dimmed a little, understanding registering in the depths of his eyes. Leave it to his brother to go leave on a fool’s errand for a mythical cure.

  
Dipper’s hands fisted at his sides and he felt his eyes burn. Ford’s tone sounded like he was giving up on a lot more than some floral arrangement. “What did you do, Ford? What happened to you to warrant your unconscious ride across the country?”

  
“Dipper... “ Stan warned, he wanted the answers just as much as the kid, but pushing his brother the moment he opened his eyes wasn’t the way to go about it.

  
“No, no, Stan. He’s… he’s right to ask that. And I… I’m afraid I’ve made a terrible mistake. One that will cost me my life.”

  
The younger twins stood silently, their eyes wide and disbelieving while Stanley opened his mouth soundlessly, words failing even him. When he did recover, his voice wavered “Sixer… you promised me you wouldn’t do anything stupid… not like that, not again. So don’t… don’t be so dramatic in front of your niece and nephew, go on and tell us how you’ve devised a plan to escape your death another time before I give you the lecture of your life! I’ll do it, I will! And you won’t get a word in about my terrible grammar!”

  
Ford frowned, shaking his head, “No dramatics, this time, Stanley. I pissed off a powerful, detestable creature and failed to match up with it’s own twisted idea of balance. I defended myself and in retaliation, I was condemned...to death.”

  
Stanley grunted, narrowing his eyes. “You look pretty alive to me, Stanford,” he commented stubbornly, “and if something foul’s after you, your sigils are strong enough that they won’t be able to so much look in our direction.”

  
“Even if that’s true, he’s already ensured his revenge, I’m afraid. This wound…” Ford trailed off, his fingers ghosting over the nasty gashes, a wince contorting his features, “It has a venom in it I'm sure of it. I felt the toxin as soon as it was injected, but had no time to think of it before sleep claimed my mind, overpowered by magic. I still don’t understand, overwhelmed by everything-”

Mabel interrupted him, “But there’s a cure, right? So we’ll whip it up and you’ll be as good as new! Right, Grunkle Ford?” Said Grunkle couldn’t meet her eyes and her optimism faltered. Turning to the grizzled man standing beside her, she tried to find some confirmation there instead, her eyes burning, “Right, Grunkle Stan? We’re Pines, aren't we? We can… we can do anything we set our minds to.” Rather than comfort her, he shot a look at his brother.

“If there is a cure, I don’t know it and who in this village would know it?”

  
“Then we’ll travel outside of the village if we have to!” Mabel cried, striking the bedpost and clutching it with white knuckled fingers. “We have to. we have to… we just… we gotta-”  
Stanley was there to hold his distraught niece tight and lead her out of the room to comfort her in another room, leaving Dipper and Ford alone.

  
The clock ticked off barely a minute before the young man continued his earlier demand for answers.  
“Who did this? I refuse to let this happen! Mabel’s right, we’ll find a cure and if we can’t-”

“You’ll storm to the forest and demand retribution? I know you Dipper, there’s nothing you can do. Besides… this isn’t a human, this is a nightmarish beast that would sooner slit your throat than listen to the insults of a single one of us. Much as I’d like to see that bastard dead and damned for all the pain he’s caused, not just me but everyone in that area…. But I saw him first hand and… there’s nothing that can be done.”

“Maybe not… but I still don’t think we should be doing nothing. That’s not something we’ve ever done, no matter how bleak the circumstances.”

“Dipper! I will not have you chase your death! As the successor of my work and the Pines family after me, you need to knock off the bravado and do what you can for this town. Not track down a murderer that would do the same to you that they did to me in a heartbeat. Now drop it and vent to Stanley. I can’t take any more of this from you. I’m the one dying damn it, and you’re all acting like a bunch of rabid wolves!”

“How are you so calm about this?!”

  
“It’s because I have to be. I made my bed and it’s time I lie in it… but I’ll be damned before i let you seek out the same end. I can accept my death if it means you don’t go after that thing, so I want you to promise me, Dipper-”

  
“Are we interrupting something?” Stan effectively cut in. He stood within the entrance with an arm on Mabel's shoulder. He gave Ford a look that made it clear he'd find out wht they were chatting about one way or another. It was enough for him to relent without receiving an answer from the brunette. “Not at all. We’ll talk about this later, Dipper.” His back was already to Ford when he said that, but he didn’t turn back.

They never talked about it. Soon after their interaction Ford gave in to fatigue and though he didn’t sleep pleasantly, he didn’t wake either, not that night. Dipper made sure he was off on some errand or another and refused to stay in the same room unless Mabel or Stanley was there. It wasn’t fair of him to ask for such a promise. On the second day he started having episodes of incoherency, his mind raving, his eyes crazed and unseeing. It was then that it sunk truly sunk in. He didn’t have much time left. By some miracle, the wound wasn’t infected and looked no worse than when Ford arrived that day on horseback, but he was descending into paranoia, madness…

He wouldn’t remember these episodes when he shook out of them, but he knew they occurred and refused to see anyone afterward. They acted like waking fever dreams, delirium that came and went, but the duration grew longer as the day stretched onward.

It was only when Stanley went to comfort his brother in defiance of his brother’s isolation that Dipper overheard something Ford had neglected to tell anyone.  
Three days. He only had three days to spend with them before the worst of it set in.  
And he knew. He knew and he hadn’t said anything to them.

  
Dipper’s face grew red and tear tracks raced across his cheeks, bitter and angry. He dropped the broom he’d been using and darted to the attic. He didn’t need anyone to know what he’d found out and he needed time. time to think, plan and come up with some way to confront Ford.

  
In the end, he made his way to Ford’s study, where all of his research, maps, and journals were kept. Including the newest entries in his travel journal. Dipper hadn’t read them yet, thinking it best to respect the man’s property and wait for him to reveal his discoveries to Dipper himself. Of course, after hearing he hadn’t succeeded in finding what he’d set out for, the brunette’s interest died, and the book was forgotten.

  
Now, however, he was certain it was the only place he’d find straight answers. Ford didn’t want to tell them anything, didn’t want them to know anything even before he’d left, he’d ensured there was nothing that would give away his plans. No books on artifacts or herbs he could be searching for, no hidden locations and no notes on the path he would take. All of these he’d left lying scattered about on the desk any other adventure, and yet they were missing now. Dipper knew this because he’d searched the place top to bottom when he’d begun to really worry about whether or not Ford would be returning and he was sure he’d seen Stan do the same when he thought the twins were asleep.

  
Ford could never entirely clear his tracks, however, he may not have handled Ford’s coat and its contents himself, but he was certain what he was looking for would have been kept on his person. Sure, he hadn't been carrying his messenger bag when he left wherever he’d come from, but he would never abandon his research entirely. It went against everything he stood for and in his mind, erased the effort that went into gathering it.  
Fumbling through the built in desk drawers he searched for the worn, leather bound journal and came up with nothing before he pulled out the hidden door on its side. Sure enough, it rested there along with extra ink and familiar tomes he’d only shared with Dipper. Of course, that didn’t stop Stanley from finding them, the man knew enough about hiding things that didn’t want to be found better than anyone.

  
The cover itself had seen better days, but the binding held and so Ford took it with him everywhere. Dipper seldom ever saw it, only reading what his Grunkle copied over to their shared pages littered everywhere as part of Ford’s unfinished masterpiece he hoped to pull together when they had their first adventure. A think that they would never have now…

  
Dipper refused to let his thoughts carry on further from that. He had the book and books were not meant for staring at aimlessly.

  
While Dipper had only meant to flip straight to the last page used, he couldn’t contain his curiosity and after turning page after page, it became appearant that there was much more to Ford's noted than he’d been lead to believe based off of what he’d openly shared. It wasn’t anything damning, but it in and of itself was enough to tell him that Ford didn’t only recently start to hide things from them, but he omitted things constantly.  
By the time he’d reached the final entry, Dipper knew what his next course of action would be.

When everyone fell asleep that night he slipped into Ford’s study for spare maps and the journal he couldn’t risk taking before without raising suspicion. Dipper had no idea if Stan read it already or not, but if he had… Well, he hadn’t exactly hidden his thoughts from his family in the beginning, all that kept him from leaving had been a lack of a known destination and Ford’s declining health.  
That and Mabel.  
None of them had been taking it well, but Mabel didn’t seem to know how to handle it. A part of her still rejected the idea that Ford wouldn’t pull through. Despite all their arguments against the possibility that a cure existed out there somewhere, she wouldn’t hear any of it.  
And, Dipper supposed, she wasn’t wrong. There were two known cures according to Ford, though he hadn’t written anything to confirm this idea outright, the logic was there.  
There was a flower that could cure nightmares and memory loss among other things… and there was the demon.  
Whichever one Dipper found first, he wouldn’t return without a cure.  
He’d bring a cure home and Mabel wouldn’t have to put on a brave face anymore to hide her red eyes, Stan wouldn’t have to worry and Ford would take him seriously. He’d have to.

With that in mind he strode out of the room with his head held high, only to be met with the last person he wanted to know of his plans.

“You’re leaving, aren’t you? If you’re so sure he’s not going to get better then why are you abandoning him?” Mabel questioned, louder than she needed to be. Dipper had a suspicion that this was intentional on her part. He’d have to disarm her anger quickly if he had any hope of evading further notice.

  
“I’m only trying to do what I think will help him. It’s the only answer I have and I can’t just sit around watching him waste away!”

  
“I care about him as much as you do, Dipper! We all do, but you don’t see us running off chasing something that could just as easily hurt any of us left! I can’t… I can’t lose you too.” Faintly Dipper could hear floorboards creak and he cursed. He was running out of time to get out before Stanley tried to stop him. He closed his eyes tightly and tried to find anything else to say that wouldn’t feel like a punch to the gut if said aloud.  
He failed. And put on the spot he said the only thing he could think of, a bitter truth that he wanted to leave Mabel out of.

  
“He only has one more day, Mabel. He only has one more day and he knew. He knew and didn't tell any of us! And if this is the only way to cure him, Mabes, would you really stop me now Knowing it’s his only chance?”  
It was too late to take the words back, but oh did he wish he could, but it was enough to throw her off arguing with him.

  
“Kids?” Grunkle Stan hollers, his heavy footsteps drawing closer. Mabel’s eyes flicker with an idea just as Dipper looks at her. “No, Mabel. You know someone has to go. Stan’s too old and if you’re missing, Gideon will stop at nothing to take them out of the picture. You need to let me go and you need to let me go tonight.”

  
Mabel considered ratting him out, she really did, but she couldn’t decide if that’s what she really wanted or not. If what he said was true- and enough of it was that she was inclined to believe it and him like she had so many time before- then there was only one thing to do.

  
With determination in her eyes, Mabel Pines pushed her brother towards the exit and set off to stall their Great Uncle. She only hoped she could buy him enough time and didn’t come to regret it.

Dipper notices the horse that brought Ford still stands in front of their property as if it waited for someone to lead it back home. If there was one thing Dipper knew for sure about this beast, however, it was that it needed no such assistance. that of course, brought into question why it remained. perhaps it was compelled to stay until Ford, its last rider, passed on. The thought made Dipper shudder. That… that was not an idea he wanted to entertain.  
The midnight black steed acted as if it hadn’t known of Dipper’s approach until he was standing before him, sniffing his hand and eyeing him up. It didn’t seem to know what to make of him this not- Ford character, but had no other reaction other than mild interest and feigned disinterest. It clearly had an odd temperament, to say the least. Dipper wasn’t sure he should be doing this and considered turning back, but Stan’s voice calling after him erased his doubts. It was now or never.  
Dipper clambered onto the horse’s back and no sooner than he had done so, it set off faster than any normal horse was capable of. Colors and sounds blurring and melding together and eventually Dipper was lulled into a deep sleep, oblivious to the world around him.

Wilderose woods awaited him and time bent to accommodate one horse and its package.


End file.
